The Reason Behind Fashion Retailers Creating Instore Food Experiences

" From Burberry to Gucci to Ralph Lauren, fashion retailers are adding experiential elements like cafés and restaurants to their stores.

In a grand restaurant in central London, customers tuck into classic British delicacies such as afternoon tea topped off with a glass of champagne. Since opening this spring, Thomas’s on Regent Street has become something of a destination. But the space isn’t one of London’s new dining hotspots; this is Burberry’s all-day café at its London flagship, named after the founder of the luxury fashion brand...

“For us, it’s really about driving more footfall and more regular visitors to the store,” says George Graham, co-founder of multibrand designer boutique Wolf & Badger, which opened up the basement beneath its Dover Street location last year to healthy food brand Raw Press...

The key motivation behind retailers opening up their space to restaurants, cafés and bars, is to create excitement and give customers another reason to visit, at a time when customers are increasingly shopping online..."